Immortals Live Forever

RACISM​, CORPORATIONS,TAXES

An ongoing series of informational entries about the Constitution of The People's Elysian Existence

Good Government is not Free

April 3, 2017 updated December 1, 2017

Article 20.Duty To Pay Taxes

It is the duty of citizens of The People's Elysian Existence to pay taxes by the law. Taxes are based on income above the livable wage, land use fees and consumption of non-food items.

Taxation cannot be used to discriminate in favor or against any business or individual. Taxes are based upon a formula which ensures adequate funds for current and future expenses. Adjustments are made every two years in public reports. No entity other than The People's Elysian Existence may impose taxes.

How would anyone like to pay taxes? If you get great service and good food in a restaurant, a person does not mind paying the check or leaving a tip for the waitperson. A person logically would not be reluctant to pay for sound government and good management of the funds used by it.

No man or woman lives in a vacuum. The roads they drive on, the protection the police, firefighters, and military afforded are not free. Other infrastructure items and services provided are a part of what is known as the commons. People and societies need these things to function, thrive and be at peace. Good government is never cheap, and bad government is far too expensive.

The primary source of income for the maintenance, construction of infrastructure, scientific research and facilities of the TPEE are land use fees. The TPEE owns all the land and natural resources associated with it. Be it an individual or a collective using or living on the land a fee (tax) must be paid. The fee is part of the rent the entity must pay. Similar to property taxes paid in some societies. The difference is that the TPEE owns the land and resources. The good part of no one owning the land and resources is that the TPEE ensures its rational use, precludes foreign ownership and avoids disputes over usage and ownership.

Income taxes above the livable wage will be a flat percentage based on the actual needs of the government to pay for communes, healthcare, social security, education and other human social services. A consumption of non-food items tax is designed to pay for the costs associated with wages paid to the public servants and to promote and stimulate the economy of the TPEE.

Article 50.Ownership Of Land Which Includes Water, and Minerals

Land in cities is owned by The People's Elysian Existence.

Land in the rural and suburban areas is leased by collectives except for those portions which belong to The People's Elysian Existence in accordance with the law; house sites and privately farmed plots of cropland and hilly land are may be leased by collectives or individuals.

The People's Elysian Existence may, in the public interest and accordance with the provisions of law, expropriate or requisition leased land for its use and shall make compensation for the land expropriated or requisitioned.

No organization or individual may appropriate, buy, sell or unlawfully transfer land in other ways. The right to the use of the land may be transferred following the law.

All organizations and individuals using land must ensure its rational use.

Any land abandoned, land judge to be abused or fought over by the users will have its use rights forfeited to The People's Elysian Existence. The land is defined as soil, water, and natural resources above and below the surface of the earth. Structures of all types, legally existing on the land can be owned by individuals, collectives, communes, or the state.

Article 51.Natural Resources

All mineral resources, waters, forests, mountains, grasslands, unreclaimed land, beaches, and other natural resources are owned by the immortocracy, that is, by the whole people, with the exception of the forest, mountains, grasslands and unreclaimed land and beaches that are leased by collectives, communes, individuals and co-ops in accordance with the law.

The appropriate TOIL branches ensure the rational use of natural resources and protect rare animals, insects, and plants. Appropriation or damaging natural resources by any organization or individual by whatever means is prohibited.

Corporations in the TPEE

March 19, 2017 updated December 1, 2017

Corporations in the TPEE (The People’s Elysian Existence) do not exist domestically within the TPEE because there is no charter for them in the constitution.

What humanity should fear is corporations. Currently, economically, multinational corporations are in constant pursuit of controlling world markets and suppressing the accomplishments of gifted hard working individuals. Their power grabs have enslaved billions of people in a way few realize is happening. By owning the water systems, gas, oil, electric power production, other natural resources, building materials, hospitals, transportation systems, research and the food production they can dictate, not just prices, but regulation of these vital resources. Also, they control a large proportion of the world media which frames their philosophy. Privatized veiled ownership makes them almost bulletproof when it comes to seeing what they are doing to us as consumers, citizens, and the environment.

Corporate greed is cancer that is killing us all. It is the Achilles Heel of social democracies that allow corporate ownership of a country’s natural resources and land. If someone cannot see inside a dark room it is impossible to know what is going on in the room; especially, if you are not allowed to hear anything. Corporations treat consumers like the three monkeys so we can see no evil, hear no evil or speak no evil about them. Investors fund them out of pure greed and do not care or are they liable for how the corporations earn their money.

Investors only want to enrich themselves by placing a bet. Winning the wager is all they care about; no matter who is victimized in the process. Anyone who disagrees with making money by investing in an unethical business is considered a fool in the investment world. In case you are a conscientious fool they have mutual funds which make you feel better about exactly not knowing what you are funding with your money.

Corporate executives only really care about profits for themselves and not much else. Even if shareholders lose their bets, the executives get paid. Executives are given stock or stock options as incentives to be greedy and ignore the consequences of their impactful actions. Earning money and accumulating wealth without being greedy or unethical is a laudable achievement; however, doing it at the expense of others and the environment is just plain wrong. There has to be a more sane way of doing business than the corporate modus operandi.

Article 54.Communes

Communal economic organizations practice the double-tier management system. Communes are allowed to co-exist, within limits prescribed by law, independent of economic oversight and may barter with collectives and individuals.

Working people who are members of communes have the right, within limits prescribed by law, to lease farm plots of cropland and hilly land allotted for private use, engage in household sideline production and raise privately owned livestock.

Communes must have a minimum of twelve adult members and a maximum of 250 adult members.

The People's Elysian Existence protects the lawful rights and interests of the communes and encourages them to interact with other elements of the immortalist society. Commune members are subject to Constitutional restrictions and also, may not serve as TOIL or military members unless they disassociate themselves from their communal lifestyle for the period of the service.

Article 57 Collective-Owned Enterprises

Collective economic organizations or CO-OPs have decision-making power in conducting independent economic activities, on condition that they abide by the relevant laws. Collective economic organizations practice democratic management, elect or remove their managerial and supervisory personnel and decide on major issues concerning operation and administration according to law. All business conducted by collectives are chartered by The People's Elysian Existence and must submit to audit, open meeting policy and oversight. A collective is defined as two or more persons who are not related by the result of a civil union. Collective management, supervision, and individually owned businesses incur civil and criminal liability for their economic activities.

Article 51.Natural Resources

All mineral resources, waters, forests, mountains, grasslands, unreclaimed land, beaches, and other natural resources are owned by the immortocracy, that is, by the whole people, with the exception of the forest, mountains, grasslands and unreclaimed land and beaches that are leased by collectives and co-ops in accordance with the law.

The appropriate TOIL branches ensure the rational use of natural resources and protects rare animals and plants. Appropriation or damaging natural resources by any organization or individual by whatever means is prohibited.

Article 55. Private Economy

Individual, private and other non-public economies that exist within the limits prescribed by law are major components of the immortalist market economy.

The People's Elysian Existence protects the lawful rights and interests of the non-public sectors of the economy such as the individual and private sectors of the economy. The People's Elysian Existence encourages, supports and guides the development of the non-public sectors of the economy and, in accordance with law, exercises supervision and control over the non-public sectors of the economy.

Article 16.Foreign investment

The People's Elysian Existence does not permit foreign enterprises, other foreign economic organizations and individual foreigners to invest in The People's Elysian Existence’s territories and to enter into various forms of economic cooperation with The People's Elysian Existence enterprises and other The People's Elysian Existence economic organizations in accordance with the law of The People's Elysian Existence. Foreigners are welcome to succeed to The People's Elysian Existence all land and citizens to The People's Elysian Existence for inclusion in the immortocracy without reservation. Failed states and those wishing to become part of The People's Elysian Existence are welcome. The People's Elysian Existence issues patents and copyrights but does not recognize any such property rights beyond five years regardless of place of origin.

When corporate monopoly power elbows out small businesses and undermines rural economies, along with the worry about the potential for automation to swiftly replace large numbers of workers with robots, the people have an authentic concern and a right to resist such power plays. Laws need to be in place to prevent abuses of such power. Better yet, an economy must be formed to enhance the stability of the working people.

Money needs to be earned through a lifetime of diligent effort. Inheritance needs to be limited and regulated. A person has no right to the achievements or wealth of another. Only the person who accumulated and earned the fruits of his labor has the right to decide how his achievements or wealth obtained is to be used. It is up to the individual to do what he or she feels is best for the society and environment in which they live. They should do this armed with the knowledge that they used the system, governance, commons and educational opportunities provided to them during their lifetime.

Businesses and individuals must function in The People’s Elysian Existence (TPEE) by the constitution as it is written. The three main types of business entities are the individual, the collective and the co-op. The commune is a TPEE entity designed to provide interdependent living and working environments.

The individual is a sole-proprietor working to earn a wage through his effort without the assistance of others or the TPEE of which he or she is a product of the environment in which they exist. What is earned by them is their sole support and is theirs to keep or spend as they please with minimal taxation. What an individual earns, more than a livable wage, they must pay a tax to the continued existence (to maintain it for them and others) for the provided commons. What the individual uses or has access to in the time of need must be paid for by earnings or service to the existence.

A collective is a formal partnership with another member(s) of the TPEE formed to conduct business to earn a wage. It is a chartered business under the constitution of the TPEE and subject to regulation by the appropriate TOIL Branch (Tree of Immortal Living Branch). Formal application must be filed with a TOIL Branch. Members of the collective are equal partners in equity, liability, and profits. Wages and profits not vested, earned by the members of the collective, are subject to taxes above the livable wage for the same rationale as those taxes paid by the individual. All collective members are required to be paid a livable wage before any profits are distributed among the working and non-working members.

Management is democratically selected by and an equal part of the collective. Management may not remove other members without cause or compensation. Management represents the collective to the TOIL Branch under which it is regulated and assures compliance to the constitution and the law under which it must openly comply. Collective members determine and approve the wages and benefits of all levels of management that are above the livable wage. Article 57 of the constitution states: “All business conducted by collectives are chartered by The People's Elysian Existence and must submit to audit, open meeting policy and oversight.” This means there is no privacy awarded to the collective to conduct business, not within the best interest of the TPEE and its citizens. The TPEE may foster collectives to provide needed goods and services when the appropriate TOIL Branch is petitioned or creates a contract with the collective. TOIL Branch members appoint collective regulators to monitor the compliance of collectives with existing regulations, laws, and ordinances. Violations of these regulations, laws, and ordinances may be adjudicated to result in the loss of the charter of the collective. No member of a collective is above the law or immune from civil or criminal liability.

A co-operative or co-op is an informal partnership with other individuals or collectives formed primarily to share assets. It may be a piece of real or personal property, space, a patent, money, an idea or item of some value to another. Ownership is vested in the co-op which lends the item to the individual or collective. In consideration, the borrower pays a fee to the co-op. The co-op uses the fees to pay its workers and to purchase more items to lend. A co-op is a non-profit organization and does not participate in profit sharing with its workers and management.

Communes are groups of people living together, sharing common interests, often having common values or beliefs, as well as shared property, possessions, resources and assets. Communal living is another form of an informal partnership. The TPEE could be classified as one very large commune in the formal sense of the common definition. Although, the TPEE is not a commune or a communist state.

In the TPEE one type of commune is where the workers go to rest, heal, be taken care of and retire. The TPEE creates and maintains communes for the enjoyment and use of the people. The TPEE provides the union built facilities, collective staffing, and funding for the communes. Communes, of this nature, are operated by the TPEE and are not for profit enterprises.

Racism is Unconstitutional in TPEE

March 15, 2017 updated December 1, 2017

Racism is an ugly disfiguring virulent cancer that has run its course. It has been fraught over for centuries and now it is time to let it die. Take it off the current life support and force feeding it has been given over the last couple of years by people the likes of Steve Bannon, Richard Spencer, David Duke, Steve King and DJT. Like a turd that will not flush it stinks and hard to get rid of even in a golden toilet in the Trump Tower.

Let it die. Sign an executive order proclaiming DNR racism! Plan a funeral and a wake for it. Invite those friends of racism to be the pallbearers. Bury it deep and let the worms feast on it. Make it unconstitutional, unpatriotic and a hate crime just to speak of it. Give it no freedom to be spoken in public like a fake, fire fire, in a crowded theater. Teach our children that racism is the worst form of bullying in the world. Show them the horror, death and suffering it has caused in our uncivilized past. Racism, please let it rest in peace.

I know this to be a dream, but sometimes dreams do become true. Well, at least in The People’s Elysian Existence racism is prohibited.

The key to eradicating racism and integrating a diverse population is to facilitate spoken communication. Article 4 mandates all citizens of the TPEE learn to speak a common official language. When people can understand what is being communicated misunderstandings are minimized and culture can be shared with greater ease. Each culture has unique attributes and fascinating customs. Racism is spawned by ignorance and fear of the unknown. Once a person gets to know his fellow citizen, the ignorance is dissolved, and the fear is forgotten.

Article 4.Ethic And Cultural Minority Rights

All nationalities in The People's Elysian Existence are equal. The state protects the lawful rights and interests of the minority nationalities and upholds and develops a relationship of equality, unity and mutual assistance among all of the Planet's nationalities. Discrimination against and oppression of any nationality are prohibited; any act which undermines the unity of the nationalities or instigates division is prohibited.

The state assists areas inhabited by a visible minority accelerating their economic and cultural development according to the characteristics and needs of the various visible minorities.

All people have the freedom to use and develop their own spoken and written languages and to preserve or reform their own folkways and customs; however, all people must be literate in the universal language designated by the Media Branch of TOIL.